LBC - Kaun Banega Superstar

Movies on the movie industry have a peculiar charm about them. It is like turning a camera back to face yourself, or shooting your own feet. It is a time to reveal your warts. Zoya reveals the beauties and warts of the film industry with a gentle humour with Luck By Chance.

Vikram Jaisingh (Farhan) is a fairly good looking fellow (hot actually) who can emote well, dance well and has a good bod too. He has a couple of friends connected slightly to the movie industry. He has this childhood friend Abhimanyu (Arjun) who is a laid-back kind of a character. He does theater and has a hot neighbour, Sona (Konkona). He also hangs out with another friend who assists Mahesh Bhatt. Almost inadvertently, 'by chance' to borrow the title phrase, a grandfather clock sets things in motion for Vikram, and he winds up charming the right people, which leads him to a big break.

Our Vikram is not all sugar and sweet, he is out to be a superstar and he can be sans scruples when the occasion demands it. All the people in the industry are shown in an equal light, they are neither white nor black. The backbiting, the mediocrity, the manipulations are all shown with such a gentle humour that you are left giggling and marveling.

The story is like a slice of life and very complete. The characters are totally STANDOUT. There is not one character I would cut out of the movie. Dimple, Juhi, Rishi are the stellar seniors, though Juhi looks mint fresh as Minty. Dimple is grace personified as ever, and her acting is flawless as ever. Rishi is now getting the kind of roles he deserved. He is an emotional, Punjabi, old time producer who can shed crocodile tears at the drop of a pin. He wolfs down paranthas with his diet food. Isha Shravani as Nikki,  the debutante heroine  and the daughter of an yesteryear's superstar is perfect. She looks exactly like a pampered teenager who has had everything on a platter.

If the characters are a standout, I don't have words to describe the script and dialogues. They are simply PERFECT. The dialogues are fun and funny without being smart ass. I am dying to reveal the one about khoon and murder. But won't. No point in spoiling others' fun. The story moves so well, and is so well done, that I feel its one of the best scripts ever in a film industry.

The acting is superlative, the cast is definitely ensemble, especially as the hero of this movie is not there to hog footage, but to make a good movie.

May I please compare this movie with Dil Chahta Hai? Of course DCH is fun personified and one of the best movies out of Hindi film industry, but still I didn't quite like the Preity-Amir tamasha at the end of it. It was too dramatic. And I also had a bit of a quarrel about the opulence of sets, the attempt to create a 'designer' look. These two faults are totally avoided in LBC, there is no attempt at opulence, and the look is strictly according to the situation. The clothes of the characters and the sets are just perfect.

Alright, that comparison above was a bit out of line, Farhan and Zoya are brother and sister, but they are entitled to their own movie making styles.

I had a bone to pick with Sona (Konkona) opting to drop out of the rat race at the end.  By doing so, Sona shows that you cannot survive in the film industry unless you are willing to play dirty.  The message it gives out is that when someone uses you, you just use them back.  If you cannot do that, go away. Also, I am sure television world has as much dirty politics going on as the film world.